[OPENING] island hub - day 1

[spellbindmods]

Who: All Characters
Where: Main Hub
When: Day 1
Open/Closed: Open to All

TDM threads can be considered canon if you so choose, they contain the power that you apped with and both parties confer that the thread is canon.

For characters that were on the TDM and who were not accepted/didn't app, these characters will be considered dropped characters that were magicked away.

Night has fallen upon everyone. It's thus far been an eventful day -- you've met some new people, discovered some new aspects of yourself that weren't there before you appeared here (however that might have happened). The original inhabitants of the island have been working hard to prepare a few things. One activity might have been one you were a part of, but there's still time to get your hands dirty. A ▢ Brie has rolled out a large copper pot and created a pit on the beach. It's unrealistic to think everyone can subsist on the few foods she's collected from other words and boar jerky alone. She's got a few boar carcasses sitting on the beach that need attending to as well. Your characters can help feed themselves and others, and here's what needs to be done: Fire needs to be started for cooking the meat AND a large bonfire for light and warmth. The large copper bowl needs to be filled with water. Crabs need to be bravely collected from the bath house for boiling. The boar needs to be either cut up for kebabs or stuck through. Does your character know anything about spit-roasting? Any other helpful magical skills are welcome to help make food. Post feasting, there are dozens of crabs and a pile of roasted boar meet that are up for eating. Even if you didn't offer to help in making any of the food, they're open to eat it -- even if the true helpers may give you dirty looks. The boar is fine, if not a little bland and chewy, but it's probably better than the jerky. The crab is delicious, if not a little tasteless...there problem with the crab isn't exactly the taste, though. B ▢ The crab isn't a species that's immediately edible for most species, though your character will grow to get used to it eventually. For now, the meat isn't settling well within your character's system. Your character will experience sweats, a high fever, blurred vision, potential vomiting, hives...it's very obvious their body is rejecting the unfamiliar meat. This may also cause a bit of an issue with your character's powers. They're still getting physically and mentally acclimated to these new changes, so expect their telepathy and magic to go a little haywire.

It's almost completely dark outside when the next event of the evening happens. You're living your life when you see it out of the corner of your eye -- it's absolutely hard to miss. What you see is a large lit caravan, larger than even an army tank. It's bright white and shining, covered with golden, ornate details that emanate an even more dazzling sparkle. The entire thing is aglow, and it's quickly coming towards the large bonfire that's been made. It's not rolling across the sand, but instead it's floating, and so is a matching trunk that's sailing along next to a figure beside the caravan. C ▢ A tall, slender woman has also come along with the large caravan, quickly opening the trunk that eventually lands on the sand with a large thud. She's handing out sacks, very similar to the ones previously in the large lobster cage. These contain a parka, a type of candy of your choice, a bottle of water, a large shard from a broken mirror and a letter rolled up and bound with a roll of twine. There are two other thread options associated with this prompt: Genette's top level and her telepathy training post. Around the same time as Genette is handing out this new little goody bag, you suddenly receive a telepathic message. It might seem a little strange at first -- but on that note, what about tonight isn't strange? D ▢ The telepathic message your character will receive is a simple one: Hello. It shows up in text form across your character's line of vision and it doesn't go away until they respond back, though the message that's sent out won't go to the original telepath. Instead it will ping pong to a random person in the group. You've made a new friend! After you've met Genette, she's also got a few more supplies that she pulls out a small door in the base of the caravan. She's insistent that you only get two items, since there aren't exactly a lot of them to go around! E ▢ The last of the starter supplies are being handed out, and these are items that are more cumbersome or rare -- they may not be immediately useful for your character, but maybe you can make use of them somehow, whether eventually in another world or with your power. An electronic/technology: these can be as obvious as an MP3 player, as useless as a garage door motor or as scandalous as a Hitachi Magic Wand. If it can be powered by electricity or batteries, there's a tub of them. They're also partially charged if they don't need constant electricity to work. A fashion accessory: there are a lot of these, surprisingly. Flower crowns, belts, bras, shoes, earrings, other types of jewelry. Your character can look cute while suffering from crab vomiting. Books and stationary: maps of various worlds, books written in a myriad of languages (maybe even one you recognize!), writing paper, ink pens, gel pens, stickers. Any kind of stationary can be found here. Other household items: this can include cleaning supplies, furniture, and other miscellaneous goods. These won't be personal affects from your character's home, but they may be useful! Feel free to come up with unusual or alien items -- these have come from all over the universe, remember!

As the night winds down, it's recommended by Brie that you should probably go to be in your hut -- or at the very least get somewhere inside. There are a lot of people around the camp, however, so it's no surprise that there are a few people waiting around to get their fill of food and supplies before heading to bed. The noise of the new members and the light of the fire have attracted a very large pack of boars, who you'll later find make routine trips to the beach every night. Boar mating season has made the wild hogs rather testy, and the smell of food -- even if it's their own boar brethren -- have made them even more volatile. F ▢ If your character isn't quick to get inside tonight, they're likely to get a boar charging at them. The chances are doubled if they happen to be holding onto a food item. Female boars can leave a few bruises and trample you, but beware the males -- they've got tusks. However, it's not like staying up at night doesn't have its advantages. Once midnight hits, another species of animal makes its regular rounds across the base camp. In the sky, characters can see an Aurora Borealis-like sight. Instead of being dancing green and blue lights, however, the reality is that they are a massive species of space worm, and hundreds are wiggling past on their way to travel back home. They're shimmering and in every color imaginable, lighting up the sky with their magnificent hues. G ▢ The space worms operate outside the natural barrier of the hub, but they still are in close enough proximity to shed a film as they travel. If you're still awake, boars or no, you'll be in the middle of a shower. The film sheds from the worms and enters the atmosphere, creating multi-colored, sweet-smelling mists of worm water vapor. Worm water vapor is kind of weird, but it's also pretty cool. It's also calming, and that's a bonus. Inhale too much and you might become a little too calm.

Comments

[rebells]

Usually I stick my dagger in the ground and cast 'Pyre.'

[He says that dryly, not unamused.]

You gather tinder and strike up a spark with a flint, if you have one. [A pause.] Well, that and what I just watched you do.

[splinten]

[Ha. Dirk doesn't laugh, but if Jay is good at reading small facial expressions, there's a suggestion of amusement at the corner of his mouth after his dry comment.]

What I did was the same as the flint thing. It's getting iron particles knocked from my sword to react with the oxygen in the air for an exothermic reaction. [Thankfully, the katana is weirdly durable, so it doesn't really do any damage.] The friction method is a pain in the ass with my speed capped.

[rebells]

[He nods; he understands the general principle, he thinks, even if some of the terms aren't totally familiar.]

This world limits your physical abilities, too?

[splinten]

Apparently. Which is bullshit. Flashstepping isn't magic so much as a careful use of one's own mass for near-instant movement across short distances.

[This is?? not magic??? this is a normal thing that he was born doing??? what bullshit]

[rebells]

[You can be born with magic!

But he makes a thoughtful noise.]

I should probably test the limits of my own physical abilities, then. What an odd phenomenon.

[splinten]

[It is super annoying.]

I've yet to notice anything else except that, and I haven't heard anyone else mention something similar. As it stands, my theory is that despite being biological, it's outside the range of 'baseline human.'

[rebells]

It's not something you can learn through training, then?

[splinten]

I've never known anyone to try. My friends didn't go for speed.

[So. Maybe? The Striders just have a natural aptitude for moving stupidly fast, apparently.]

[rebells]

Well, in that case.

[His lips quirk upward.]

What's the difference between a biological gift and a magical one?

[splinten]

A magical gift could be biological. [He takes that point.] But it wasn't. I know how magic works in my universe, and that wasn't it. It was the same as someone being born with the genetic disposition to be unusually smart or tall.

[rebells]

Hmm, fair enough.

[It doesn't really fit with what he knows of the magic-analogue on his world, but he'll take Dirk's word for it.]

On Melfes the closest thing we had to "magic" could manifest itself as a physical ability, as well. But eres has a specific source--it's not just inborn.

[splinten]

Eres being your analog to 'magic.' You can't use it here, I assume. [He's curious about what its source is, too, and if that's related, but he'll start with the groundwork question.]

[rebells]

No. And believe me, I've tried.

[splinten]

I'm curious about the source.

[rebells]

[He smiles.]

The blessings of the sea, and I do mean that literally. You might think of Melfes' ocean as a kind of god.

[splinten]

[He totally believes that, because it is much less arbitrary and stupid than many of his experiences.]

Does that lead to water-based powers?

[rebells]

Not that often, oddly enough. Most elemental eres utilize fire, earth, or lightning. The ones which involve water are often holy in some way, however . . . they're especially effective against darkness-based creatures.

[splinten]

[That is odd. Interesting and curious, and he considers it.]

If water magic tends to be holy in light of a sentient ocean of some kind, I could see why it might only be handed out to the devout few. Efficacy against darkness checks out in terms of classic RPG weakness triangles.